Postage Stamps: What to Record

Identification

Country Text Stamps & postal history

Country of origin or issue, by its usual English name (historic states as named at the time, e.g. Kingdom of Bavaria).

Catalogue numbers Text Stamps & postal history

Numbers in the main catalogues with the catalogue named, e.g. Scott 245, SG 186, Michel 52, Yvert 140, WNS DE012.05.

Reference link Link Stamps & postal history

Web page about this object or its reference entry (catalogue, database, sale).

Issue date Date

First day of issue.

Face value Text

Denomination as printed, with currency, e.g. 5 c, 1/2 d, 0,80 EUR.

Set / series Text

Set or series the stamp belongs to, e.g. Europa 1962, Famous Germans.

Stamp type Choice, or your own

Purpose of the stamp as classified by the catalogues.

13 choices

• Definitive
• Commemorative
• Airmail
• Semi-postal / charity
• Postage due
• Official
• Express / special delivery
• Registration
• Parcel post
• Military / field post
• Newspaper
• Local / private post
• Personalised

Format Choice, or your own

Whether the item is a single stamp or a multiple.

• Single
• Pair
• Strip
• Block of four
• Larger block
• Sheet / pane
• Souvenir sheet / miniature sheet
• Booklet / booklet pane
• Coil
• Se-tenant combination

Topic Text

Themes for thematic (topical) collecting, e.g. birds, ships, space, Olympic Games.

Subject Text

What the object depicts or is about.

Condition

Condition notes Text Stamps & postal history

Faults, wear and damage in detail.

Certificate / expertise Text Stamps & postal history

Certificates of authenticity or expert opinions, with issuer, date and number.

Gum / usage Choice

State of the gum for mint stamps, or how the stamp was used.

• Mint never hinged (MNH, **)
• Mint lightly hinged (MLH, *)
• Mint hinged (MH, *)
• Mint, no gum ((*))
• Used
• Cancelled to order (CTO)
• On piece
• On cover

Grade Choice

Grade by centering and soundness in the US terms used by dealers and PSE/PSAG; a faulty stamp is graded down.

11 choices

• Gem
• Superb
• Extremely fine to superb
• Extremely fine (XF)
• Very fine to extremely fine
• Very fine (VF)
• Fine to very fine
• Fine (F)
• Very good (VG)
• Good
• Poor

Numeric grade Whole number, 1 to 100

Grade from a certificate on the 100-point scale (PSE / PSAG), e.g. 100 Gem, 98 Superb, 90 XF, 80 VF, 70 Fine, 50 Very good.

Cancellation Text

Type, place and date of the cancellation, e.g. circular datestamp BERLIN 12.3.1921, pen cancel, numeral obliterator.

Acquisition

How and when the object came into the collection.

Acquisition date Date Stamps & postal history

Date the object came into the collection.

Acquisition method Choice, or your own Stamps & postal history

How the object came into the collection.

• Purchase
• Auction
• Gift
• Inheritance
• Exchange / trade
• Self-collected / found
• Commission

Acquired from Text Stamps & postal history

Seller, auction house (with sale and lot number), donor or place where it was found.

Purchase price Amount Stamps & postal history

Price paid including fees and premiums.

Provenance Text Stamps & postal history

Earlier owners and the object's history, oldest first, with sources (labels, invoices, sale catalogues).

Value

Estimated and insured value.

Estimated value Amount Stamps & postal history

Current market value as estimated.

Valuation date Date Stamps & postal history

Date of the current value estimate.

Valuation basis Choice Stamps & postal history

What the estimated value is based on.

• Own estimate
• Recent sales / auction results
• Dealer offer
• Catalogue value
• Professional appraisal
• Insurance valuation

Insured value Amount Stamps & postal history

Sum the object is insured for.

Collection record

Your own inventory data.

Inventory number Text Stamps & postal history

Your own number or label for the object, e.g. C-0042, as written on its label or album page.

Storage location Text Stamps & postal history

Where the object is kept, e.g. room, cabinet, drawer, album and page, box.

Production

How the stamp was made; the details catalogues use to tell issues apart.

Printing method Choice, or your own

How the stamp was printed.

• Recess / engraving (intaglio)
• Typography / letterpress
• Lithography
• Offset lithography
• Photogravure
• Embossing
• Combination of methods
• Digital printing

Colour (catalogue) Text

Colour name as given in the catalogue, e.g. carmine-rose, deep blue.

Separation Choice

How the stamps were separated from each other.

• Perforated
• Imperforate
• Rouletted
• Die-cut (self-adhesive)
• Perforated and imperforate sides

Perforation gauge Text

Perforation as measured with a gauge, horizontal x vertical, e.g. 14, 12 1/2, 14 x 13 1/2.

Watermark Text

Watermark as identified in the catalogue, e.g. Crown CA, Multiple crosses, none.

Paper Text

Paper type, e.g. wove, laid, chalk-surfaced, granite, fluorescent, phosphor-tagged.

Variety / error Text

Plate flaws, missing colours, inverted centres, perforation shifts and other varieties, with the catalogue's variety number.